The Flurry Blog

This morning my friend Kevin sent out a response he received from one of his Free Agent Academy members.  He had asked his community how they were doing in their business.  Here is some of that response:

“Kevin, in my response to your recent email I told you things have stalled due to various stuff happening in my life and a lack of time. I now realize that is not why things have stalled. Instead, it is because of fear, lack of knowledge & experience, and lost focus which has caused me to stall in my business pursuit. And most of all, it is a lack of being held accountable that has prevented me from overcoming those challenges.”

I love the essence of this response.  We succeed with good counsel.  I think that counsel is most powerful when it is given full permission to speak truth, guidance and conviction into our lives.  The trouble is (and I speak this from a ministry and business perspective) we have made the term “accountability partner” equivalent to parole officer.  I guess

George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 19920044-058

you could say, when it comes to our calling, we have all kept ourselves in prison for way to long under the burdens of fear, inadequacy, lack of knowledge and wisdom.  Once we taste freedom we need someone to help us attain it.  But why has that word (accountability) gained such disdain?  Is it because we are too stubborn, individualistic and bull headed to accept it?  I don’t think so.  Those things all play a part, but most of all I think it is rooted in the fact that rather than encourage and walk along side each other, we are too quick to hold people to what they used to be.  This goes for ourselves too.  We are the first ones, at the first sign of resistance, to fall back to what we used to be.  We need reminding that we have embarked on a journey of adventure, thrill and greatness.  We don’t have any other option but success.

If you have left the mediocre life behind, I encourage you to seek out someone to encourage you, correct you, guide you.  I am not talking about a mentor or coach in this case, but someone who is in the same situation you are in.  Kevin calls them accountability partners.  I like the term trench mate.  Call it what you may, you need them to make it through.  And if you think any of us are immune to the trails and pitfalls, you are greatly mistaken.  I signed up today to make Kevin a trench mate in my own journey.

You can join Kevin here.

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A year ago, during the Iran Election Protests I posted about a small project a friend and I embarked on, to help spread the word in solidarity with the people of Iran being oppressed.  We often think we have little leverage to make change in today’s world.  This morning I was once more compelled to use the tools and connections I have at hand to spread the word for change.  Randy Elrod posted a blog and painting in protest of the planned stoning of an Iranian woman named Sakineh.  He is asking others to stage an online protest.  Here is his full post and art:

As I casually perused CNN.com this morning, an article titled “Global Protests Held Worldwide Against Iran Woman’s Execution by Stoning” jolted me from my Saturday reverie. You can read it HERE. Feeling profoundly moved to join the protest,  I Googled an image search of the words “stoning muslim women.” The pictures brought hot tears of horror to my face.

I began passionately painting a watercolor and below is what came from the shock and realization that murders like this still occur in our “modern” world. I thought, why not start a blog, Twitter,  and Facebook protest against the stoning of this very real person named Sakineh?

Will you please participate? CNN says that Iran has been known to stay an execution, when the protest is loud enough. If you would like to join me, please do so. If not, that is fine, I’m not trying to put you on a guilt trip.

But, I’ve spent my day off painting a watercolor in this effort, so will you take a few brief seconds and do a blog post, Twitter, or Facebook update to save Sakineh’s life??

You can simply copy and paste this post, or write your own. Please use the exact title so that we can be heard as one voice. You also have full permission to use the watercolor as your social network image, in your posts, and I have created Twibbons for your Facebook and Twitter profiles.

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Twitter

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People still ask me what is the worth of Twitter. This morning I was reminded of the main value I find in the tool, inspiration. Susan Lewis posted a link a while back to a really good blog on finding Inspiration by Jonathan Mead.

If you simply look at the massive amount of tweets being posted on the home page of Twitter, you’ll be missing the true value. But if, through time, you build a community around your interests and expertise, then you will eventually have a refined group of people and sources from which to draw inspiration. In an earlier post I explained a few of the lists in which I have grouped those that I follow. Two of these lists never fail me when I am seeking inspiration for a new idea.  I  probably spend an hour and a half each day browsing and engaging with those in the lists as well as ones I have created for the brand communities I coordinate. I’d like to say that Facebook does the same, but at this point (unless someone is posting the same content I am finding via the lists on Twitter) it does not inspire as much.

The other places I find inspiration for professional creativity are: books, listening to my closest friends stories, and personal reflection.

Where are you finding inspiration today and what tools are you finding it with?

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